Two Scottish flu survivors tell their stories and why everyone should have the flu jab

VULNERABLE groups such as the elderly, those with heart or lung conditions and pregnant women are at greater risk.

IF YOU thought the worst that can happen with flu is a week in bed, think again.. Karen Bale meets two women who experienced the dangers and are warning those at risk to get the jab.

The reality, however, can be much worse – it claims the lives of 500 people a year in Scotland.

Vulnerable groups such as the elderly, those with heart or lung conditions and pregnant women are at greater risk, and although the flu jab is available to these groups the take-up can be low.

Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer Sir Harry Burns stressed how important it is to get the jab, saying: “Flu strikes suddenly and it’s important to be prepared.

“It only takes a few minutes to get the jab, but this will protect you for around 12 months.”

Law graduate Lindy Paterson knows the risks all too well. Three years ago she had her whole life ahead of her, having just had a promotion at work and bought her first house and first car.

Lindy Paterson, flu victim in Ibiza

Then, aged 26, she was enjoying a sun-soaked week in Ibiza in September 2009 when she suddenly became seriously ill.

Lindy, from Cowdenbeath, Fife, was diagnosed with swine flu and spent three months in a coma.

Her parents, who flew to the island to be by her side, were warned the flu had ravaged her body and she might not survive.

Finally, in late November, she was strong enough to be flown home to Scotland, where she was hooked up to oxygen in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary’s intensive care unit for a further three months. Then, a year later, her lung collapsed and she had an emergency operation to remove it.

Lindy, 29, is still recovering, three years on. Her chest drain was only removed in June and she’s still not able to work. But she’s just happy to be here.

She said: “I never would have thought the flu would do this to me, to my body. I’ve lost three years. I wouldn’t wish what has happened to me on my worst enemy.

“It’s so important that people get the flu jab. A 15-minute appointment can save you the three-year hell that I've been through.

“I’m not negative about what’s happened to me, though, I’m pretty much just happy to be alive.”

Lindy flew to San Antonio in Ibiza for a week in the sun with pals in September 2009. Days later, she was fighting for life after contracting the H1N1 virus.

She said: “It started off with cold symptoms and a high temperature. It was when I tried to get out of bed and could hardly walk that my friend called an ambulance.”

Hours later, Lindy was hooked up to a life-support machine as swine flu ravaged her body. It was three months before she was strong enough to fly home.

She said: “The first thing I remember is waking up in hospital in Edinburgh and I was absolutely terrified as I couldn’t move my body, I was paralysed. I had been in a coma so long all my muscles had gone.

“I thought I’d been in a car accident.”

Lindy stayed in hospital until the following March, hooked up to oxygen as her lungs recovered.

She said: “It was like being in prison or trapped in a mental institute. It was like living in a horror film.

Lindy had to learn to walk again using a zimmer frame, but struggled to make progress in hospital.

She said: “They eventually allowed me to come home and my mum nursed me. But it was hard as it was like being a baby again. I couldn’t even bath myself. I was so weak, I’d lost about three stone.

“It was a dark time.”

Just as she was starting to recover, Lindy’s left lung collapsed and she was rushed to hospital.

She said: “It started bleeding and I was coughing up loads of blood.

“They didn’t know if I was strong enough to have my lung removed, but they didn’t have a choice.”

Lindy was released from hospital for the second time just before Christmas 2010. She lived at home for a year until, last December, she finally moved back into her own flat.

She said: “In June they finally took my chest drain out, which was one of the goals I’d been waiting so long for. I even managed a day out to T in the Park in the summer, in my wheelchair.”

Despite her ordeal, Lindy is upbeat about her future.

She said: “I’m actually more happy and content than I was before I was ill. I’m thankful now for everything I have. I’m hoping next year will be the year I get back on my feet and go back to work as a financial crime investigator.

“I would never have thought flu could do this to my body, but at least I’m here to tell the story.”

Flu survivor Linzi Smith is terrified of catching the illness again and ensures she has a jab every year.

The 45-year-old, from Edinburgh, suffers from MS and was bed-ridden for three weeks after catching flu in her 20s.

She said: “I remember when I had the flu I was absolutely exhausted and really sick. I had all the cold symptoms as well and was really shivery.

“I could hardly get up and spent almost three weeks in my bed.

“I couldn’t even get up to watch telly, I felt so lousy.

“I made an emergency appointment with the doctor, who said I had the flu and to go to my bed.

“It took me quite a few weeks once I was back at work to get back to normal, and that was before I had MS.”

Four years ago Linzi, who was forced to retire this year due to illness, was diagnosed with MS after she began falling over in the street and staggering.